Houghton

Houghton Mansion in North Adams, Massachusetts has a tragicc history that many say caused it to be haunted by ghosts and other paranormal activity. It was featured on the supernatural reality show Ghost Adventures.

Houghton Mansion was built in the 1890s and was home to Albert Charles Houghton, his wife and their 23 year old daughter Mary. Mr Houghton was a workaholic with a passion for business and spent all his time trying to make money and provide his family with the finer things in life.

In 1905, when Mr. Houghton was 61, his health began to fail. At that point, Mary resolved that she would never get married. Instead, she would devote her life to taking care of her father. By 1914, the Houghtons had managed to save a lot of money and were able to buy a new car and employ a personal chauffeur to drive it.

One day, Mr Houghton and his daughter Mary had their personal chauffeur drive them to Vermont. As fate would have it, the car trip proved to be fatal for everyone involved.

As the chauffeur was trying to drive around some horses that were blocking the road, the car swerved suddenly and careened over a large embankment. The vehicle rolled over several times as it fell down the hill. Mr Houghton and the chauffeur were thrown clear, but poor Mary was trapped in the vehicle.

Mary Houghton received horrible wounds in the accident and died of her injuries a few hours later. Mr Houghton and the chauffeur suffered some scrapes and bruises, but were otherwise unhurt. However, the death of young Mary Houghton weighed heavily on the two men.

Even though it was not his fault, the chauffeur blamed himself for Mary’s death and fell into a deep depression. The next day, the chauffeur went down into the cellar of Houghton Mansion’s barn, took out a gun and shot himself in the head.

Mary’s father, Mr Houghton, also fell into a deep depression, unable to accept that his only daughter was dead. He took to his bed and passed away 9 days later of an unexplained illness. The events of one tragic day had claimed the lives of three people.

In the years since the accident, many people have reported encountering paranormal activity in Houghton Mansion. They have heard the mysterious sounds of running footsteps, strange knocking on the walls, the whispering of female voices, lights being turned on and off, and hideous yelling and screaming at night. People who stay in Houghton Mansion claim to feel the overwhelming sense that they are being watched, being touched, experiencing numbness in their limbs.